The most hallowed and anticipated of all days at Magnani Continuum Marketing is has come and gone. No, it’s not payday or the final day before Christmas break. The day that stands tall above all others at Magnani is Tomato Sandwich Day!

A simple sandwich has grown to represent so much more.

In case you’re unfamiliar, the tomato sandwich itself is very simple. The only ingredients you really need are bread, tomatoes and olive oil with balsamic. Soak your tomatoes in the olive oil. Toast your bread or leave it untoasted, it’s up to you. After your oil soaked tomatoes have been placed upon the bread, it is now up to you to become your own sandwich artist and cover it in any accouterments you’d like, such as ham, anchovies, capers, mozzarella, basil and tuna. The result is a flavor so profoundly amazing and memorable it deserves its own day.

If you perform a quick Google search for ‘tomato sandwich origin’ you will see a flood of regions and people all claiming ownership and origin of the summertime favorite. From South America to Coney Island it seems as though everyone wants to stake their claim to what is essentially the most simple of concoctions. Whatever the universal truth to the origin of the Tomato Sandwich may be, Magnani has its own legend that traces back to France and the company’s founder Rudy Magnani. Long before he founded the company, Rudy grew up in France, along the Italian border. His mother made tomato sandwiches for him as a child, and during his teen years he spent a number of summers working on the Mediterranean. During these summers of teen employment, Rudy brought his mother’s recipe to the beach and began selling the sandwiches to sunbathers and tourists. The recipe stayed with him long after moving to the States. Years later, after founding Magnani Continuum Marketing, he brought the sandwich back as part of a company wide birthday celebration, sharing the sandwiches with the staff every year. Back in its infancy, when Magnani basically consisted of six employees in a condo overlooking the river, Rudy would pick up the lunch tab for those celebrating a birthday. Two of these employees were current President Justin Daab and Executive Creative Director Brian Riley who, like Rudy, also celebrated a birthday in the same summer time frame. Soon, the three birthdays and the sandwich merged creating a day all its own, Tomato Sandwich Day.

Tomato Sandwich Day is, as our Director of Research, Gail Straus puts it, “simply the best day of the year.”

Tomato Sandwich Day has become a tradition that clients, friends, neighbors and especially past and present employees recognize and cherish. It’s a shared experience that honors our past and unites everyone who has ever been a part of the Magnani family. A simple sandwich has grown to represent so much more. Tomato Sandwich Day is, as our Director of Research, Gail Straus puts it, “simply the best day of the year.”